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In addition to the active conflicts covered in the other threads, the United States has important security interests that do not (and may never) involve shooting war. Russia, for example, still maintains the second most capable nuclear forces in the world, controls massive land areas, and competes withand sometimes cooperates withthe US in regional influences and arms sales. Many of these observations also apply to China.
In contemplating U.S. interests in the far corners of the world, however, one is drawn to the observations of Major General Smedley Butler, USMC, who, at the end of a career furthering such interests, noted that:
I wouldn't go to war again as I have done to protect some lousy investment of the bankers. There are only two things we should fight for. One is the defense of our homes and the other is the Bill of Rights. War for any other reason is simply a racket & I helped make Mexico, especially Tampico, safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefits of Wall Street. The record of racketeering is long. I helped purify Nicaragua for the international banking house of Brown Brothers in 1909-1912 (where have I heard that name before?). I brought light to the Dominican Republic for American sugar interests in 1916. In China I helped to see to it that Standard Oil went its way unmolested.
During those years, I had, as the boys in the back room would say, a swell racket. Looking back on it, I feel that I could have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts. I operated on three continents. (extracted from a speech by General Butler in 1933)
This section will also contain commentary and articles about potential use of military force in regional conflicts outside the Balkans and the Middle Eastin the Western Hemisphere and South Asia, for example. And of course, participation in UN / NATO peacekeeping missions are possible in any theater.
Afghanistan, map showing linguistic / ethnic composition. The Taliban are primarily Pashtun. For other topical maps of this region, please visit our Charts and Data section.
"Analysis of Recent Polling Data on National Missile Defense," Few Americans care strongly about missile defense, and when told about the system's failures, initial support turns to opposition. Most don't believe that NMD is more important than fixing Medicare or Social Security, or even other priorities within the military. July 9, 2001. Reprinted by permission of the Council for a Livable World, which commissioned the poll. (80 KB MS Word)
"Back to the Future with Asymmetric Warfare," by Col Vincent J. Goulding, USMC. What to the battles of the Teutoburger Wald (9 & 14-15 A.D.) and Grozny (1994-95) have in common? For one thing, they both show how determined and resourceful "fighters" can defeat conventional armies by shaping their expectations prior to the actual combat. From Parameters, Winter 2000 - 2001.
The Reasons Why: The US Failure to Control the Nuclear Agenda in South Asia, Prof. Harold Gould. One of the greatest challenges for US policy is controlling the spread of nuclear weapons in the Third World. In this paper, Prof. Gould examines why we have been unable to do so in South Asia. In MS Word (.doc) format.
Pankaj Mishra's three-part series in the NY Review of Books. If you're looking for a flashpoint to ignite WW III, or another locale for US troops on peacekeeping missions, Kashmir would be a great candidate.
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Part 1: Death in Kashmir
Part 2: The Birth of a Nation
Part 3: Kashmir: The Unending War
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"The Price of War," Stratfor.com's series on Colombia. Let's see, we have a long-running guerilla conflict, a regime with an abysmal human rights record, a righteous moral cause for US politicians, billions of dollars in aid, and 500 US military advisors on the ground. All this and dense jungle terrain.
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Part I: Beyond Colombia
Part II: Colombia and the Russian Connection
Part III: America's Risks in Colombia
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"Humanitarian Military Intervention," by Jules Lobel and Michael Ratner, a tightly-reasoned critique of the doctrine of humanitarian intervention.
"All the World's A Mall," David E. Sanger's review of Robert Gilpin's new book on globalization. Economic issues have a long history as justification for the use of military force. Are we coming up on a new round? Excerpt from the review: "Even as nations around the world race to embrace free-market capitalismor at least talk a good gametheir political systems convulse at its ramifications." Includes a link to the first chapter of the book. (New York Times Book Reviews, April 30, 2000)
About the Comments (Full text of the references are available on Infowar)
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